Fabric and method of manufacture using selvage bands

ABSTRACT

A non-woven fabric is manufactured which utilizes as a primary component material the fringed selvage band resulting as a by-product in the manufacture of certain woven fabrics. Strips of selvage band are laid down on a non-woven backing or web in various configurations, depending upon the ultimate appearance that is desired. The selvage strips are then secured to the backing by punching with an array of forked needles, each of which forces a loop of yarn from the selvage through a hole in the backing.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 119,129, filed Feb. 6,1980 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,829.

The present invention relates generally to fabrics and, moreparticularly, concerns a non-woven fabric and a method for itsmanufacture.

In the manufacture of fabrics, there is often a substantial amount ofwaste material produced. For example, in weaving fabric on a rapier loomor certain other similar types of looms, a selvage with a fringed edgeis produced. Before removing the fabric from the loom, this selvage edgeis clipped to produce a continuous woven band with fringes protrudinglaterally from one edge. This clipped selvage band is collected anddiscarded. Not only does this selvage band represent a waste ofmaterial, but additional expenses are involved in collecting anddisposing thereof.

Broadly it is an object of the present invention to manufacture a fabricwhich makes use of waste materials from existing fabric manufacturingprocesses. It is specifically an object of the present invention tomanufacture fabric which makes use of the fringed selvage band producedin the manufacture of some woven fabrics.

It is also an object of the present invention to produce a fabric whichis attractive and durable, yet relatively inexpensive in that theprimary raw material component is a waste product.

In accordance with an illustrative embodiment demonstrating objects andfeatures of the present invention, a non-woven fabric is manufacturedwhich utilizes as a primary raw material the fringed selvage bandresulting as a by-product in the manufacture of certain woven fabrics.Strips of selvage are laid down on a non-woven backing or web in variousconfigurations, depending upon the ultimate appearance that is desired.The selvage strips are then secured to the backing by punching with anarray of forked needles, each of which forces a loop of yarn from theselvage through a hole in the backing.

The foregoing brief description, as well as further objects, featuresand advantages of the present invention will be more completelyunderstood from the following detailed description of presentlypreferred, but not less illustrative, embodiments in accordance with thepresent invention, with reference being had to the accompanying drawingwherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view illustrating schematically how apreferred form of a fabric in accordance with the present invention maybe manufactured;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of a forked needle of the type used inmanufacturing a fabric in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of a fringed selvage band of the typeused to manufacture fabric in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating a single fork needle punching afiber or yarn from the selvage through the backing;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view along line 5--5 in FIG. 1, illustrating thecross section of a fabric manufactured in accordance with theillustrative process;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the fabric of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a fabric similar to FIG. 6 in which parallelstrips of selvage have been overlapped to provide a different shag-likeappearance;

FIG. 8 is an alternate form of fabric in which strips of selvage arelaid down in a random arrangement;

FIG. 9 is an alternate form of fabric in which strips of selvage arelaid down laterally to the direction of feed of the backing material;and

FIG. 10 is a further alternate embodiment of a fabric in accordance withthe present invention wherein individual yarns are laid down on thebacking material.

Referring now to the details of the drawing, FIG. 1 illustrates aprocess for manufacturing fabric 10 from fringed selvage bands inaccordance with the present invention. The fabric 10 is formed from anon-woven backing material 12 and a plurality of fringed selvage bands14. The selvage bands may be provided from any conventional storagesource, such as a creel, and the backing 12 is supplied from a roll ofmaterial 16. The selvage bands 14 and the backing 12 are fed in the samedirection (to the right in FIG. 1) and are joined together by means of aneedle punching assembly 20. The finished fabric 10 is supplied directlyto the take-up roll 18.

The needle punching assembly 20 comprises an array of needles 22 securedin a holder 24, a top plate 26 and a bottom plate 28. Each of theneedles 22 preferably has a forked end 30 (see FIG. 2). In the preferredembodiment, the needles are arranged so as to provide a density of 6.25needles per square inch.

The backing 12 is preferably a non-woven fabric sold under the tradename CEREX, a heat bonded mass of non-woven synthetic fiber threads.However, it will be appreciated that many other types of materials couldbe useful as a backing material including paper and flexible sheetplastic material (e.g. polyethylene, vinyl). The construction of thefringed selvage band 14 is illustrated in detail in FIG. 3. The band 14includes a woven portion 14a and a fringed portion 14b. The fringedportion comprises the weft threads of the original woven fabric fromwhich the selvage has been removed.

In practice, the fringed selvage bands 14 are laid down in asubstantially parallel arrangement along the backing 12 and the needlepunch assembly 20 is preferably operated to punch at a rate ofapproximately 135 punches per inch. The needle spacing is not criticaland can be varied depending on the decorative appearance andcharacteristics desired in the end product. Each time a needle 22 passesinto the selvage band 14, a yarn or section of fibers from the selvageband is caught by the forked end 30 of the needle 22 to form a loop. Insome instances only a few filaments of a particular yarn may be snaggedand carried through the body of the non-woven substrate by the forkedneedle. The yarn or fibers are compressed as the needle continues itsdownward stroke and penetrates the backing material 12 to produce a holetherein (see FIG. 4). The needle therefore pushes a loop of yarn orfibers through the bottom of the backing material and preferably for atleast 1/4 inch beyond the backing material. All this time the bottomplate 28 prevents the backing material 12 from moving with the needle.As the needle begins its upward stroke, the fibers or yarn are no longercompressed by the forked end of the needle. In addition, the hole in thebacking material tends to close around the yarn or fibers. These twoeffects combine to retain the loop of yarn or mass of fibers andprevents it from returning with the upwardly travelling needle. Inaddition, the top plate 26 prevents the backing and selvage bands 14from following the needles 22 upward.

It has been found that, by varying the spacing between the parallelselvage bands 14, fabric of various appearances can be achieved. Forexample, the fabric illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 is obtained by layingthe selvage bands side-by-side. This results in a fabric which has awoven shaggy look along its length. That is, shaggy portions and wovenportions alternate. If the selvage bands 14, however, are placed closertogether so as overlap, the weight of the fabric increases and a shaggyappearance results (See FIG. 7).

In the alternative embodiment 10' of the fabric 10, which is shown inFIG. 8, strips of the selvage bands 14 were laid down in a randompattern and then needle punched. This provided a variable pattern with awoven shaggy look.

In the alternate embodiment 10" of the fabric 10 (FIG. 9), the selvageends 14 were laid across the backing material 12 instead of along itslength, to provide a shaggy woven look across the width of the fabric.The spacing of the selvege ends 14 may be varied to provide differentdensities of shag.

In a further alternate embodiment 10'" of the fabric 10 (FIG. 10),lengths of waste yarn 30 are laid down directly on the backing material12 and are then secured thereto by punching with an array of forkedneedles 22. The various orientations that were used with selvage bandsmay also be used with yarns. The illustrative embodiment 10'"corresponds to the fabric 10 of FIGS. 5 and 6. The yarns 30 are longyarns commonly used as the warp yarn in weaving. In the present instancethese were low grade (too low a quality for weaving) warp yarns whichwere mounted on a creel and fed parallel to the feed direction of thebacking material as in FIG. 1. By laying the fibers side-by-side or thebacking material and needle punching, as described above, a fabric witha striped pattern was produced.

Although preferred forms of the invention have been disclosed forillustrative purposes, it will be appreciated by those skilled in theart that many additions, modifications and substitutions are possiblewithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as definedin the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-woven fabric including, as a primarycomponent, a fringed selvage band of the type obtained as a by-productof the manufacture of certain-woven fabrics, said non-woven fabricfurther including a non-woven backing material to the surface of whichsaid selvage band is secured.
 2. A non-woven fabric comprising anon-woven backing material having a plurality of holes formed therein,and strips of fringed selvege band secured to said backing material byhaving loops of fibers therefrom extending into and through the holes insaid backing material.
 3. A fabric as in claim 2 wherein said strips ofselvage band are arranged to lie side by side and generally parallel tothe length of said backing material.
 4. A fabric as in claim 2 whereinsaid pieces of selvage band are arranged to lie in an overlappingarrangement and generally parallel to the length of said backingmaterial.
 5. A fabric as in claim 2 wherein said strips of selvage bandare arranged to extend in generally parallel alignment across the widthof said backing material.
 6. A fabric as in claim 2 wherein said stripsof selvage band are positioned in a random arrangement on said backingmaterial.
 7. A method for manufacturing a non-woven fabric including asa primary component a fringed selvage band of the type obtained as aby-product of the manufacture of certain woven fabrics comprising thestep of securing said selvage band to a non-woven backing material.